NIU Law Professor Dan McConkie was featured on a podcast episode of The 21st entitled, “Conviction, reversal and outrage: The aftermath of a sexual assault.” Professor McConkie, who teaches criminal law and criminal procedure, shared his expertise during the discussion to help unpack details of the recent case where a judge in Adams County, Illinois made the controversial decision to overturn the conviction of a sexual assault case involving a 16-year-old girl. The 21st is an Illinois’ statewide news talk show that airs on six NPR member stations across the state.
Professor McConkie joined the NIU Law faculty in 2015. He teaches courses in criminal law, criminal procedure and professional responsibility. His primary research interest is criminal procedure.
Professor McConkie was a prosecutor in California for eight years, first for the state and then for the federal government. As a federal prosecutor, he specialized in taking down large drug trafficking organizations and served as his office’s ethics advisor. As a scholar, he now writes about plea bargaining, which has almost entirely replaced jury trials in our justice system.
Professor McConkie holds an Honors B.A. degree in history from the University of Utah (2001), where he graduated cum laude, and a J.D. degree from Stanford Law School (2004), where he was a Public Interest Fellow. From 2013 to 2015, Professor McConkie was a visiting professor at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.
